Time to increase BRICS' role in global affairs: Putin

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MOSCOW, July 15 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has said it's time to raise BRICS' role to a new level and make it an unalienable part of the global management system for sustainable development.

"The modern world is indeed multipolar, complex, and dynamic ... Any attempts to create a model of international relations where all decisions are made within a single pole are ineffective..." Putin said in an interview with Itar-Tass news agency published Tuesday.

Putin's remarks came during his week-long trip to Latin American countries, including Cuba, Nicaragua and Brazil, where he would attend a summit of BRICS countries.

To promote BRICS's role, Putin said, the organization should develop cooperation with the United Nations "in every possible way."

"We propose to create a mechanism of regular high-level consultations between our foreign ministries on different regional conflicts to agree, where possible, on common positions and joint efforts to ensure their political and diplomatic settlement," said the president.

Russia will also raise questions concerning the increasing cases of unilateral sanctions, he said, citing sanctions against Moscow from the United States and its allies.

Noting that the BRICS countries have criticized the sanctions in different forms, Putin said "together we should think about a system of measures that would help prevent the harassment of countries that do not agree with some foreign policy decisions made by the United States and their allies, but would promote a civilized dialogue...based on mutual respect."

Putin hailed the position of Russia and China on Syria in the United Nations Security Council, which has helped the country avoid Libyan and Iraqi scenarios.

On the economic sector, Putin said the leaders would discuss the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reform at the summit.

"The BRICS countries are concerned about the unreasonable delay in holding a debate of this subject. This jeopardizes all the efforts of G20 in this direction," he said, calling for fulfilling the rightful demands of "new economies" to balance the IMF under a new reality.

Saying that all the five economies require "serious modernization," Putin hailed the proposals of founding the BRICS Development Bank as well as creating a currency reserves pool.

"Both the Development Bank and the foreign currency reserves pool are practical steps for our countries, intended to strengthen international financial architecture and to make it more balanced and just," he said.

The president also said the BRICS has no plan to form a military-political alliance, nor does it consider expansion at present time, but he did not rule out its future expansion.